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Tamar Kushnir

Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience
Psychology & Neuroscience
417 Chapel Drive, Box 90086, Durham, NC 27708
417 Chapel Drive, Box 90086, Durham, NC 27708

Overview


Research Interests

Cognitive development, causal learning, social cognition, moral cognition, theory of mind, cultural psychology, free will, counterfactual thinking, imagination, self-control, rational constructivist approaches to learning and development

Current Appointments & Affiliations


Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience · 2021 - Present Psychology & Neuroscience, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Associate Chair of Psychology and Neuroscience · 2024 - Present Psychology & Neuroscience, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Professor of Philosophy · 2021 - Present Philosophy, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Faculty Network Member of the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences · 2022 - Present Duke Institute for Brain Sciences, University Institutes and Centers

In the News


Published February 26, 2024
Meltem Yucel Studies How Gossip Influences Relationships
Published April 10, 2023
Kids Judge Alexa Smarter than Roomba, But Say Both Deserve Kindness
Published September 27, 2022
First-Grade Girls Stick With Science After Pretending to be Marie Curie

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Recent Publications


Children's cost-benefit analysis about agents who act for the greater good.

Journal Article Cognition · March 2025 Acting for the greater good often involves paying a personal cost to benefit the collective. In two studies, we investigate how children (N = 184, Mage = 8.02 years, SD = 1.15, Range = 6.00-9.99 years) use information about costs and consequence ... Full text Cite

Seeing Gray in a World of Black and White: Children Appreciate Reasoners Who Approach Moral Dilemmas With Humility.

Journal Article Developmental science · January 2025 Moral decisions often involve dilemmas: cases of conflict between competing obligations. In two studies (N = 204), we ask whether children appreciate that reasoning through dilemmas involves acknowledging that there is no single, simple solution. In Study ... Full text Cite

School-age children are more skeptical of inaccurate robots than adults.

Journal Article Cognition · August 2024 We expect children to learn new words, skills, and ideas from various technologies. When learning from humans, children prefer people who are reliable and trustworthy, yet children also forgive people's occasional mistakes. Are the dynamics of children lea ... Full text Cite
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Recent Grants


Humilities Across Cultures: Do Children in China and the U.S. Value Intellectual Humility for Moral and Epistemic Beliefs?

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by John Templeton Foundation · 2024 - 2026

The Impact of Gossip on Children's Feelings of Belongingness

FellowshipPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by National Institutes of Health · 2023 - 2026

Religion, Normativity, and Self-regulation

ResearchPrincipal Investigator · Awarded by University of California - Riverside · 2020 - 2025

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Education, Training & Certifications


University of California, Berkeley · 2005 Ph.D.
University of California, Berkeley · 2004 M.A.
Barnard College · 1996 B.A.